GPA could be decided by a student's personality.
College students who believe their academic success hinges only on how well they pay attention in class and prepare for tests may be in for a surprise. According to new research from Rice University, students' grade point average (GPA) could be partially decided by the type of personality they have.
A Conscientious Student is a Strong Student
In a recent press release, psychologists from Rice University covered the details of their study, which was published in the online edition of Psychological Assessment. Using 51 existing studies, the psychologists were able to find a link between students' personality traits and how well they performed in college.
The study placed a focus on the "Big Five" personality traits, which include agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism and openness to experience. Overall, the psychologists found that conscientiousness, more so than any other characteristic, was linked to a higher likelihood that students would achieve a high GPA.
This is far from the first research to arrive at this conclusion. A 2007 University of California, Davis study also revealed that conscientiousness could predict students' college GPA. The researchers behind this study discovered a connection between openness and verbal SAT scores as well, which just goes to show that personality can play a role in academic performance.
Personality's Effect on College Students
According to the Rice psychologists, the findings of their study could have an impact on various aspects of students' college experience.
"Research on these personality tests helps us gain a better understanding of how various personality traits may affect academic outcomes and other important life outcomes," said Sam McAbee, a Rice student pursuing a master's degree in psychology, who also served as the study's lead author. "And although some researchers have questioned whether these personality measures might vary in their validity or effectiveness for predicting these outcomes, our analysis shows that all five measures produce similar results in the academic domain."
Everyone from admissions officials to professors could benefit from knowing how personality traits can predict what type of college student someone will become. For example, educators could tailor their instruction to address the learning needs of a lecture hall filled with students who possess certain personality traits.
"Grade point average is just one of many factors that can predict student performance and long-term success," McAbee said. "We hope our findings will encourage research that investigates how different personality traits impact important outcomes."